Walter Sabo and his ‘neat idea’ for radio

Sabo is the chairman of New York City-based Sabo Media, but he got on the map as a consultant for the RKO Radio chain. It is his work with RKO that drew my ire, and I will admit I am somewhat irrational about it.

Sabo is the man who killed KHJ (930 AM), first through an awful format called Car Radio (traffic reports every 10 minutes 24 hours a day) and then when he decided that the KHJ call letters were too damaged to keep. He dropped them in favor of calling the once-legendary station KRTH (AM).

In San Francisco, he took one of the best Top 40 stations ever, one that just a short time prior to his arrival was the top-rated station in the Bay Area, and replaced music with game shows from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Within six months the station was rated dead last.

He was the architect of the original “Real Radio” format on KLSX (now KAMP, 97.1 FM), in which the likes of Kato Kaelin and Mother Love “accidentally” brought us some of the funniest radio ever heard in town. They just didn’t know they were funny.

But throughout the years, various people I respect from different stations have insisted that if I ever met Sabo in person, I would like him. We have a similar outlook on radio’s needs, they say.

I will admit that Car Radio could have worked had it been developed correctly. Even today, many people tune into stations like KNX (1070 AM) for the consistent traffic reports. What would be wrong with a few Top 40 hits between finding out why you’re stuck on the 405 Freeway?

So I read with interest a recent story in Talkers magazine written by Sabo in which he touts “The Return of the Neat Idea.” Dare I say it? I agree totally.

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The commentary is directed toward radio, but it could easily apply to businesses or even education. Businesses grow and prosper when they take chances and “embrace new, daring ideas based upon marketplace demand.” Businesses fail — Sabo says they implode — “when fear of new ideas sets in.”

Radio needs to get out of its comfort zone, he insists.

And he is right. As Sabo explains, “Today, media businesses are excited when they show quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year growth. But this is false growth. Compare any media business with 2007 revenue and business is down. Five years after the depression began, revenue is still down.”

The comfort zone is a dead zone, Sabo insists, and the only way out of it is to rethink priorities. To stop focusing on cutting the bottom line, to be creative and to be on the lookout for the next “neat idea.”

Not just one or two people, but everyone in an organization should be encouraged to come up with neat ideas. While he doesn’t say it explicitly, not all neat ideas will work, but it is better to try to learn from mistakes.

“It will cost a business nothing to fuel rather than discourage creativity (and) it gives permission for the business to have a future,” he says. Sabo’s hints for fostering this:

1. Establish a culture that asks for creativity at every opportunity.

2. Reward neat ideas with recognition.

3. Let the creators develop their ideas “without the distractions of bureaucracy.”

4. Have a purpose. Ask “what’s next” that will affect your station — or your industry.

The stations I like follow at least some of these thoughts. The Sound (100.3 FM) is one of the most creative when it comes to special weekend programming and special events.

The same can be said for Go Country 105 (105.1 FM) and K-Mozart (1260 AM), both owned by Saul Levine. His stations try to super-serve the local audience. Where else can you hear about available pets in local shelters than on Go Country?

Read the full column online through Talkers Magazine online at http://tinyurl.com/NeatIdea. Then let’s see if any stations take up the idea. The neat idea. And I’ll see if I can get used to being nice to Walter Sabo.

Live is always best

When Jhani Kaye left KRTH (101.1 FM) midsummer, Dave Randall soon returned to his rightful place in the overnight shift at the oldies station. Now he’s gone again, replaced by a voice tracked (prerecorded) show from assistant programming director Dave Mason.

The reason? Cost-cutting.

Overnight time slots (midnight to 6 a.m.) are unrated, so why bother with a live personality? Easy: Your best product must always be available. Someone tuning in to KRTH at 3 a.m. listening to Randall hears a real show, and if the listener never heard KRTH before, might just tune in later. Prerecorded Mason? Not so much. Might as well sample KOLA (99.9 FM).

At least that’s my take. KRTH is too good of a station to have prerecorded shows at any time. Kaye should never have done it either, by the way. Let’s make it live!

Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro-based freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Send him email at rwagoner@cox.net.